In 1840, Edgar Allan Poe wrote that illness had delayed his dream of launching a literary magazine; the publication never appeared in his lifetime, and his handwritten letter sold for $206,266 in 2026

A remarkable handwritten letter from Edgar Allan Poe fetched over two hundred thousand dollars at auction. Dated December 30, 1840, it reveals Poe’s struggles with illness that delayed the launch of The Penn Magazine. Despite setbacks in health and finances, Poe’s determination to create a literary journal never wavered. This endeavor eventually evolved into The Stylus, another project that encountered its own hurdles.

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